


Illustrated Man

by sexuallydisoriented (Cheezalot)



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-01
Updated: 2015-02-01
Packaged: 2018-03-10 01:04:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3271007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cheezalot/pseuds/sexuallydisoriented
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post-5x20, “…A Thousand Words.” After the team returns to Quantico, reader goes in search of Reid to ask more about why he knows so much about The Illustrated Man, and finds more than she expected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Illustrated Man

"Why are you still here, kid?" Rossi called over his shoulder as he locked his office door. "I figured you would have gone home a long time ago."

You looked up from your desk and sighed. “I wish.” You put down your pen and wrung out your cramping fingers. “See you tomorrow, boss.”

"Yeah, see you tomorrow." Rossi made his way to the elevator, and then you were the only one left in the bullpen. Everyone else had left an hour ago, and Reid had wandered off a few minutes ago in the general direction of the locker rooms. Changing sounded like a pretty good idea—your clothes were still pretty nasty from you wearing them in the humid Florida sun all day—and you figured that was what Spencer was doing.

You rubbed your eyes in hopes some of the weird, sleepy funk you were feeling would rub off. It didn’t, but you tried to go back to work anyway. You were up to the part of the last case where you, Rossi, and Emily had talked to a local tattoo artist about the unsub’s intricate tattoo. The guy weirded you out a bit, especially his desire to see what was left of the unsub’s head.

Although, there was one thing that stuck with you throughout the case. Every artist you talked to was familiar with _The Illustrated Man_ , and were all adamant that everyone in the industry knew it inside and out. That was something that stuck with you, though. No one else you knew had even heard of the book, except Spencer.

Of course, it could just be that his abnormal reading ability made it possible that he’s read almost every book in print, which you considered likely.

_Hm._

You put your pen back down. You needed a break anyway, so you stood up, ignoring your crackling knees, and made for the locker rooms.

Your feet were quiet on the concrete floor; you’d left your boots underneath your desk. “Hey, Spence, you in here?” You turned the corner into the room and froze.

_Damn._

Spencer was sitting on the bench in front of his open locker, twisted around to look at you with an unreadable expression. “Hey.” He sighed.

You felt silly standing in the doorway, but your brain hadn’t snapped out of its shock yet so you continued to stand there, mouth slightly agape. When you walked in, Spencer was sitting with his head in his hands and his back to the doorway…and no shirt. What shocked you so much wasn’t the fact that he was shirtless, but the intricate silver dragon wrapped around his torso.

He stood up and faced you, face resigned as he stuffed his hands in his pants pockets.

You finally came back to earth and moved into the room. “Damn, Spence,” you breathed. “How long have you had that?”

"Uh, started working on it after I finished undergrad for the first time. Took about four months to get it all done once the design was finalized." His voice was soft, like he was trying to hide, but otherwise he seemed oddly comfortable.

You squinted a bit, trying to make out the details. The dragon’s head was on the right side of his chest with the body extending under his right arm, around his ribs, and across his back. Its feet rested one on his ribs and the other on his shoulderblade, and once the body snaked around towards his stomach again, it came over his left hipbone and disappeared into his jeans. The detail of the body was equally intricate; tiny scales covered the entire dragon, and even its head and eyelids were carefully detailed as well. Two long fangs poking from its closed mouth were eerily realistic and incredibly sharp.

"I came down here to find out why you know  _The Illustrated Man_  so well, but I guess I have my answer.” Spencer laughed softly. “It’s beautiful, Spencer.”

"Thanks." He pulled a grey t-shirt on, crossing his arms defensively when he saw you glance at the needle scars on his forearms. "I’d, um, I’d appreciate it if you could refrain from mentioning it to everyone else."

"Of course. You know they wouldn’t care, right? Morgan’s got, like, five tattoos, and that’s only the ones we can see."

He laughed. “I know. It’s just one of those things, you know?” He absentmindedly started picking at a patch of needle scars.

"Yeah, I gotcha. No problem." You shuffled awkwardly, unnerved by the silence that fell. "Anyway, I’m gonna get going. Sorry about…barging in, and all this." You gestured vaguely in the air. "See you tomorrow."

"Yeah, see you." He went back to his open locker, moving some things into his bag as you turned to leave. "Hey, Y/N, wait a sec."

"Yeah?"

"If you want, we could go get drinks sometime…you look curious, and so long as you don’t go telling people I’ll be happy to talk to you about," he gestured at his torso, "all this."

"Yeah, that would be nice," you nodded. "Thanks, Spence."

"We’ll go after the next case ends," he decided. "It’s a date."


End file.
